Harboursandport.com: Lagos - The National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, NCMDLCA has said cumbersome operating environment, as well as multiple charges, has cost the nation 40 per cent of its domestic cargo traffic, and employment opportunities.
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| National President of NCMDLCA, Lucky Amewiro |
National
President of the NCMDLCA, Lucky Amewiro who disclosed this in Lagos, said
before now Nigeria use to control about 70 per cent of the cargo traffic in the
sub-region; stressing that the above has resulted in the loss of 50 – 60 per cent
of the cargo volume.
The
NCMDLCA National President said with development in some of these countries in
the sub-region, for every five to ten people who get employment in the country;
about 3,000,000 get employment opportunities in these competing nations.
Amewiro
while speaking at his 68th birthday celebration said that Nigeria
has lost two levels of trade which she has dominated for decades. The two
levels of trade according to him include; trans-shipment cargo and transit
cargoes (cargoes being moved to landlock nations), and domestic cargoes which
is now being shared with countries like Togo, Benin, and Côte d'Ivoire.
He
pointed out that while the nation’s neighbouring ports are simplifying their
port processes and developing deep seaports, the country is making the port
operations even more cumbersome with multiple charges.
According
to him, “We have lost trans-shipment cargo and transit cargo. Trans-shipment
cargo which are goods destined for the Nigerian market goes first to Benin Togo
and Côte d'Ivoire
from where they are trans-shipped to Nigeria.
“Ghana
now handles transit cargoes going to landlocked countries like Niger, Chad
Bukinafasso, and Mali while we are presently sharing our domestic cargo with
Togo Cameroon and Benin Republic,” he said.
He
further noted that “Ghana has what they call E-bond
which means their insurance is bonded. You do not need any paper bond, their
transit is tracked with the use satellite, so you do not see anybody carrying a gun in hand and their things are moving.
“This is a small country that adopted a technology which is the
international practice but what are we adopting here? We are operating a 1949
system in the country, when we operate this system, our employment is moving to
other countries.
“When you have employment for ten people, you will see three
million people will go there. So those are the problems we have but there are
other problems, for instance, we don’t have tools here, we don’t have laws.
“Where are the port laws, who operates it, what kind of laws do
we operate in the port, ask them.
“When you have employment for ten people in
Nigeria, you will see 3 million people will get there; so these are some of the
problems we have,” he said.
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